Benefits for Veterans with Mesothelioma or Lung Cancer

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) was established on March 15, 1989, succeeding the Veterans Administration that was founded in 1930. The VA is a government-run benefit system for U.S. military veterans and is responsible for administering benefit programs to veterans, their families, and survivors of veterans (which add up to approximately 74.5 million potentially-eligible persons). Benefits provided to veterans include disability compensation, pension, life insurance, home loans, education, vocational rehabilitation, survivors' benefits, and medical and burial benefits. An inconceivably complex system, the VA is the second largest federal department (after the Department of Defense).

The VA benefit program most known to the public remains the medical program. In 1930, the Veterans Administration operated 54 hospitals across the country. Currently, the health care system includes 155 medical centers, and the VA operates more than 1,400 sites of care, including 135 nursing homes, 45 residential rehabilitation programs, 108 home-care programs, 209 Veterans Centers, and 872 ambulatory care and outpatient clinics.

Eligibility for benefits within the VA medical program is defined by a classification system that categorizes veterans based on a series of "priorities," which can be puzzling to define and can appear to be subjectively limiting. For example, veterans exposed to toxic herbicides in the Vietnam War are classified as a "priority 6" (on a scale from 1-8, 1 being the highest priority), but veterans who were exposed to asbestos during service and subsequently developed mesothelioma (the deadliest disease caused by asbestos exposure) are not given any priority whatsoever.

Currently, the VA does not readily recognize mesothelioma as a "service-connected" condition. A "service-connected" condition is defined as any illness or disease linked to an individual's military service. This designation allows for easier filing and collecting of VA benefits. The VA, however, does offer a series of Special Benefits programs for other defined service-connected illnesses, such as those designed for Agent Orange and the Gulf War Illness. Benefits are available to those with mesothelioma, but filing a claim can turn into a complicated process.

Veterans with asbestos-related diseases are allowed to apply for medical benefits, though the process can often prove to be perplexing. At the outset, veterans are required to provide proof that their condition is asbestos-related. Secondly, veterans must offer evidence that their exposure to asbestos occurred while serving in the military - not at any time before or after. Asbestos.com offers free assistance with filing your VA claim and can make the process much easier. Our on-staff 24-year Navy veteran offers extensive experience in filing VA claims and can help any veteran coping with mesothelioma to receive benefits from the VA system.

For more information on free assistance, VA benefits, programs, and eligibility, please call 800-615-2270 or fill out the form on the right to receive a comprehensive information packet.